Introduction: Neighborhood socioeconomic status is a key determinant of geographical disparities in life expectancy within countries. These disparities can influence a community’s disaster resilience and are critical factors to consider in disaster management. However, previous studies on this topic have not adequately accounted for spatial spillover effects, where the conditions in one region may impact neighboring areas. This study aimed to examine the association between neighborhood socioeconomic factors and life expectancy in Japanese municipalities, explicitly considering spatial spillover effects. Findings from this study could inform the development of regional indicators of disaster resilience from a socioeconomic perspective. Methods: This cross-sectional ecological study analyzed 1,732 Japanese municipalities, with life expectancy as the outcome variable and ten socioeconomic factors plus two control variables as explanatory variables. Moran’s I was first calculated for the residuals of the linear regression model to examine the presence of spatial dependency. The Spatial Durbin Error Model was then applied to identify both direct effects within a municipality and spillover effects from adjacent areas. Results: Moran’s I for the linear regression model was statistically significant, indicating the presence of spatial dependency. Unemployment and education levels showed spillover effects in the same direction as their direct effects, suggesting that improved conditions in one area are associated with increased life expectancy in neighboring areas as well. Conversely, taxable income showed a negative spillover effect for females, suggesting that improvements in income level in neighboring areas might contribute to adverse social or psychological impacts. Conclusion: The study demonstrated the need to consider spatial spillover effects of socioeconomic factors from neighboring regions on health, in addition to direct effects from the region of interest. These findings offer insights for disaster management policymakers and practitioners in developing regional indicators and targeted interventions to strengthen disaster resilience and mitigate vulnerabilities across interconnected areas.
Tabuchi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.